EF1 tornado in Kent County, Delaware

Tornado August 4, 2020 · Kent County, Delaware

EF1

Rating

2.1 mi

Whole path

400 yd

Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Sussex County → Kent County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 400 yards (0.23 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

Soon after crossing Haven Lake into Kent County, the tornado's direction of motion shifted considerably, from north-northeast to northwest. The tornado crossed

Williamsville Road producing additional tree damage, then lifted

as it proceeded northwest west of Milford Harrington Highway. Due to the extensive

tree damage, power lines and some poles were also down along

portions of the tornados path. Several of the trees were of

softwood and snapped at their trunks, which is indicative of 100

mph winds and this was used to rate this tornado. This wind speed

corresponds to an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Doppler radar

data showed a well defined tornado debris signature that quickly

developed on the west and northwest side of Milford as the

circulation moved through.

The wider storm

Tropical Storm Isaias brought high winds, heavy rain, several tornadoes, and coastal flooding to the mid-Atlantic region, becoming the most impactful tropical cyclone to impact most of the region since Sandy in 2012.

Began near Milford (38.9122, -75.4494).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF2 Kent County EF1 Kent County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 926366. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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